


A Second Chance

by BINARYBASH



Category: Ikenfell (Video Game)
Genre: It's very bad, Other, angsty, might qualify as hurt/comfort?, this is my first ever fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27439315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BINARYBASH/pseuds/BINARYBASH
Summary: Maritte leaves Safina alone with Pertisia for a while. Surely nothing bad can come out of that?
Relationships: Pertisia Abednego/Maritte Hildegaard
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	A Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> this work contains SPOILERS for IKENFELL seriously don't read if you're going in blind!!
> 
> it takes place before the epilogue, when Maritte tells Saf she has one more person to talk to. It's not very good (it's my first fanfiction!!!)

Safina knew who was coming through that door. She knew exactly who Maritte meant when she said she had one more person to talk to. But she wasn’t ready yet to own up to what she did.

They started off on the right foot. Safina, though nervous and wracked with guilt, tried to break the ice. She went down to sit on her bed while Pertisia stayed standing, creating a tense atmosphere.

“So, um… How have you been? With everything that’s happened… you must be hurting, Perty.”

“I’m… I’m not going to pretend I’m not in pain. But I’m healing. With help from my friends, and your sister.” When Pertisia mentioned Maritte, a tiny smile lit up on her face. “It’s a long road, but with everyone’s support, I can make it. Not least of all hers...” She crossed her arms.

Safina, hearing this, smirked a little bit. She couldn’t possibly begin to understand how much pain Pertisia was in. But she could help her. Or so she thought. “I’m glad to hear that. Sounds like you’re doing just fine without me!” Her smile grew wider. “Hey… Perty, you like Maritte, don’t you?”

“It really is that obvious, if even you can tell…” Pertisia sighed, exasperated, but not surprised she figured it out. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Safina is exceedingly smart when she wants to be. “I do. She’s… helped me so much, through everything. Through all the pain, she’s been there to reassure me it’s going to be okay. They all have, but her the most. Sometimes it’s hard to believe she’s your sister, of all people. After everything you did to harm the people around you, unintentionally or not...” Her brow furrowed, and her smile dissipated. “You couldn’t be more different.”

“Wow, heh, that’s blunt!” Safina wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She knew it was true, but part of her wasn’t willing to accept it. So she tried to lighten the situation, to no avail. The mood of the room was changing alarmingly quickly. And Safina didn’t like it one bit. She had to get it under control. She had to be _in_ control. Like she always has been.

“You… I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to turn this conversation less tense.” Pertisia raised her voice. “You’re trying to control it. Like you tried to control Rook and Nel, like you tried to beat down poor Aeldra. I won’t let you. I won’t let you hurt me anymore. I won’t let you hurt ANYONE ever again. Not like you did to me, and nearly did to everyone else. The only reason we were okay in the end is from supporting each other and healing from the pain and conflict you instigated between us all.” She wouldn’t give Safina a chance to talk. “You were so close to hurting Nel and Rook just like you hurt me. Making them take part in all your dangerous adventures. I HATED just watching you do that with them, knowing that inevitably you would do the same thing to them you did to me. And you turning them against me, making them believe I was out to get you… when I just wanted to save them from the same fate that befell me. For the love of Wala, you’re a danger, Safina.”

Pertisia started crying, falling to the ground on her knees. And Safina didn’t know where to start. Her mind was a battleground of conflict. Deep down, she knew Pertisia wasn’t wrong in anything she said. But she couldn’t allow herself to think like that. She conditioned herself not to. She had to be on top, no matter what the situation. 

“P-Poor _Aeldra?_ She’s the wretched witch who’s responsible for ALL of this! SHE’S evil. And you stopped her with all your friends! Wh-why blame this on me? I TRIED to stop her first! I tried to put an end to her ways!”

This just made the situation worse, and Pertisia got even angrier through her tears. “Dear Rava... You’ve completely misjudged her, Safina. She was an utterly broken woman. On the verge of insanity. She was overworked and dealing with YEARS of built up trauma that she dealt with using... blood magic. You have to understand this, because I want you to start acting right. You have to know the dangers of blood magic. You’ve SEEN what it can do. Please, Safina.”

Safina was snide on the outside, but she knew she was making the situation worse. She couldn’t stop. Not now. It’s gone too far. And it’s all going to come crumbling down. “None of that excuses her actions, Pertisia! This is what I don’t get about you! You always seem to blame ME for the faults of other people! With both Aeldra, and _yourself”._

“You… what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You always do it! You always blamed Nel and Rook for playing with me and y-you always blamed me for just having a little fun!”

“Safina…”

“What? W-what’s wrong? You can’t answer? Good! T-there’s no way for you to win this!”

“Win what?” 

With that question, Safina’s heart was shattered.

“Win the… I have to… I…”

Safina started crying, and fell to the ground in anguish. “I DON’T KNOW! I can’t do this anymore, Perty! I know I-I’ve hurt so many people and I just… I just… I don’t know how to make up for everything! You w-were right earlier! I _am_ a danger and I _do_ hurt people a-and I’m _sorry!_ I’ve been so blinded by wanting to be on top that I’ve damaged everyone around m-me… I’m sorry, Perty… for everything I did to you. I k-know that won’t make up for it all, but...”

She was sobbing. Pertisia was completely taken aback by Safina’s outburst of emotions. She figured she was holding them all in, but didn’t know they would all burst out like that. But she was glad Safina was on the path to becoming a better person. And Pertisia’s own tears were beginning to dry up. 

“W-what I want to ask you, Pertisia… is… do you think I c-can... from everyone… can I be given a second chance?” 

Pertisia pondered this as she was recovering. A rather loaded question, she thought. Loaded with years of trauma and neglect and envy and lies and horrible feelings that all came bursting out from all her friends. Safina hurt each and every one of them, but not in ways irreversible. 

She got back up off the ground and fully wiped away the last of her tears. “I do think that, Safina. While I’m not ready to forgive you for what you did - well - none of us are - I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re willing to give you one last chance.”

“Y-you really mean that? Are you sure?”

It was surreal for Pertisia to see Safina this vulnerable. She was so used to her putting on a facade around other people that she forgot what this looked like. 

“...Yeah, I mean it. I’m sure of it.” Pertisia now spoke with a renewed confidence in her tone. “Though don’t expect us to not keep an eye on you.”

“T-that’s fair.” Safina smiled sheepishly. “I really have caused a lot of pain. But from now on… I’ll try to be better. You’ve given me one last chance. So I’ll try my b-best to live up to that.” 

The mood of the room had lightened again, and despite their argument, things were looking up for both of them. Despite still lingering tensions between the two, a significant weight had been mutually lifted off their shoulders. In the end, Safina stayed in her room and questioned her possible path for the future; what could she do for the people around her that would make up for her past? What could she change about herself? 

In the meanwhile Pertisia ran off to a distant, fararway place. Nobody was quite sure where she went, but Safina knew she would be alright. She’s a tough girl.

The only certainty in their lives was that everything would get better.


End file.
